#NewYearCelebrations | Valentina Expressions

At The End Of The Year | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

01 Jan 2018 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ItalianNewYearEve, #NewYearCelebrations, #NewYearEve, #NewYearEveCustoms, #NewYearEveRedUnderwear

The end of the year marks a passage of time and the hope for new experiences, new love, new peace and new expectations. Whether it is celebrated on December 31st or not, people worldwide do celebrate it, and in much different ways. I remember how we celebrated it in Italy, long time ago. It was colorful, fun and very dangerous.

As midnight struck, heavy fireworks started from every windows and balconies. Kids played with the less dangerous fireworks and adults played with heavy ones, often losing parts of their body with it. Loudest and powerful fireworks lasted for more than an hour and during that time, it was customary to throw everything old and no longer wanted out of windows.
It was not advised to come home from parties before 5:00 am, that’s when people finally quieted down. This practice is now prohibited by law, but for some people is hard to desist from this custom.

Before the Southern Italians went absolutely crazy with fireworks and throwing things out of the windows, they went totally crazy with food. They sat down at dinner table around 6:00-7:00 pm surrounded by many people, usually family, with the intentions of eating 13 courses, one for each month of the year passing and an extra one as a good wish for the new year. The 13th course was a plate of cooked lentil eaten soon after midnight. Lentils represent money, more lentils we eat, more money we will have…. and everyone hopes…..
Eating lentils is still a custom of today.

(Click on each photo to view it larger)

No matter what color Italians like, at the end of the year, every woman from North to South wears a red pair of underwear to wish for a new love or to keep the one they have. That’s is something I still do today.

(Photo above: https://www.zappos.com/p/b-temptd-lace-kiss-thong-haute-red/product/8343688/color/401264)

The last and the first day of the year are two days equally respected and celebrated in Italy. Italians never pay bills on Jan.1^st even if they expire on that day. We believe that whatever we do on the first day of the year, it will repeat itself all year round. Laugh, make love, travel, eat in company of people, cook, create art, visit museums, go to the beach, start writing a book, play music, whatever we do, must be a fun activity that we want repeated again and again throughout the year.

Those who decide to go out at the end of the year, willing to pay a high price for dinner and dance, after midnight, will end up in a single file, making a train with people, often strangers, rolling through tables and going around the dancing hall, at the tune of Brazilian music. I never understood why Brazilian music became the brand of celebration for the end of the year. The best part of going out at the end of the year is that most everyone waits until 5:00 am to get warm croissants, freshly baked and just out of the baker’s oven. They go so well with a cup of cappuccino or a double espresso. The aroma of a fresh croissant is a prelude that something sweet will happen in the new year…..and so everyone hopes….
True or not, it is good to have hopes and beliefs. I wish you a splendid 2018, all the way through and celebrate what you want more of. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinaexpressions.com/trips-to-puglia-2/

As a writer and cultural promoter of Puglia, my native land, it is my intention to let readers feel and experience a new ”wheel of emotions”. I want to encourage them to visit areas of Italy not beaten by massive tourism. Through stories of local customs, art, architecture, fashion, food-wines, shopping, I want them to create their special adventures and live it up in Puglia! Check out my books on
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0

2014 Chapter | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

02 Jan 2014 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #BerniniBaldacchino, #GratitudeDay, #NewYearCelebrations, #PopeFrancis, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #StPeterBasilica

My native homeland is ever so distant especially during the holidays. The turn of the year arrives in Italy nine hours before it happens in USA. To feel a little closer to home, I follow their events on the Italian TV and celebrate with the first bottle of champagne at 3:00 pm, midnight Italian time. While waiting for 2014 to arrive across the pond, I watched a replay mass from the Vatican in Rome. St. Peter’s Basilica was stunning as ever and full of faithful.

(Photo: Wikimedia Foundation)

Pope Francis spoke from the altar under the magnificent Bernini’s Baldacchino. His words of love rang out in the world strong and decisive. He said every new year is a new book made of 365 empty pages onto which we can write our life starting on the first of January. I had never thought of it that way.

Last year I started a kind of gratitude jar with notes of every highlight of my days that I would read at the end of the year. I filled it with notes of people and events that mattered, made my days and taught me something. Reading the notes on the 31st of december was like seeing a sweet movie on slow motion.

I will start my 2014 chapter with a thank you note to my top commenters on my blog, as WordPress says in my annual report:

http://tbmarkinson.wordpress.com

http://bluebutterfliesandme.wordpress.com

http://shareandconnect.wordpress.com

http://terry1954.wordpress.com

http://greendoorhospitality.wordpress.com

Also, I would like to thank all my readers and followers from different parts of the world, 133 countries, and wish you all a splendid 2014. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.valentinadesigns.com

This is my 24th year in design business and I am not showing signs of wanting to quit. I will be evolving in different directions, while still helping people realizing their dream spaces in homes, offices, interiors, exteriors and improving restaurants or cafés. Check out my books on

Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Stuck In The Groove | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

12 Jan 2013 17 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ItalianCulture, #ItalianCustoms, #NewYearCelebrations, #NewYearWishes, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #ShineOnAward, Appreciation

Hoops, I didn’t even notice to have been gone since Christmas and my page seems stuck in the groove! Pardon.
Well, last year my Thursdays disappeared often out of my weeks, catapulting me straight into the Saturdays and weekends didn’t even appear on the horizon of my calendar. To me it meant one thing: time for regrouping, regenerating and detoxing from the Internet. Literally, I abandoned my studio and this time I was the one who disappeared. Now, I am wondering, why the year is new, I am one year older, but my office has the same organized mess, the same décor looking at me and the same dust onto which I can write the story of my life, especially after my short absence.

No, I am not stuck in the groove, the year has started well and I am very much alive and kicking.
This week, I made a third anniversary flying with WordPress. It has been a great experience reading all of you bloggers and making new friends.

I have received also the “Shine On” Award from A MisBeahaved Woman http://misbehavedwoman.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/shine-on – THANK YOU, I am honored and I accept. Please read her interesting blog on social issues, she is really good.

With the Awards come the rules. Here are the ones for the Shine On Award.

1.) Show appreciation of the blogger who nominated you and link back to them in your post.

2.) Add the award logo to your blog.

3.) Share 7 things about yourself.

4.) Pass the award on to 5-10 other bloggers you admire.

and here the winners:

http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com – Photography and stories.

http://ohtheplaceswesee.com – they are husband and wife who decided to live somewhere else a month at a time.

http://algarveblog.net – a British expatriate to Portugal.

http://wheresmybackpack.com – She says: “anyone who tries to tell you it’s a small world hasn’t tried to see it all”.

http://taylorjorjorian.wordpress.com – Photographic Surreal Impressionism

http://grandmothermusings.com – Jamie is a sweet teacher.

Please go visit them, enjoy their reading and make new friends. The world is full of people we have not met yet. Happy 2013 to all, hoping this year will treat us very nicely.

To find 7 things to say about me it’s a hard task to do, but I will do my best.

I have always liked to eat and manage to keep a good figure to suit my bone structure. I have eaten a Mediterranean diet since I was born and don’t even get closer to junk food. People who know me call me “A Good Fork”. My father used to say that was better to clothe me than feed me.
Growing up in my Italian family, food choices did not exist and neither did democracy in the family nucleus. The heads of the family made up their own laws and we kids had to obey. Today, I go into people’s homes and find that kids can choose what they want to eat, as if they are at a private restaurant, tell the parent what to do and even get paid to do chores!
I am not a mechanical person like most of my women friends are. If something breaks it will stay broken unless someone fixes it.
I love Opera. When I am sitting in those red velvet chairs, I transport myself to a different world and era and get totally oblivious to anything around me, but often asked myself how I would react if a fire happened while I am totally hypnotized by the opera notes.
I am an acute observer. I see things people miss easily. I can sit at a café’ for hours just to observe and hear people’s conversations.
I don’t get bored easily, stupid people get bored, but time wasters get on my nerves easily.
I don’t shop at corporations, I shop at small stores and I am very faithful to them if they know how to treat me right.

I am participating in the A to Z challenge on any subject, mine will be on HOME from A to Z.
I will give myself one year to write funny and not so funny stories, tips and stuff related to the home projects and behind the scene happenings.

Let’s have a fantastic year and let’s not get stuck in the groove of time! Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an interior designer, in business since 1990 and a former fashion designer.
She helps people realizing their dream spaces in homes, offices, interiors, exteriors, restaurants and more. She is also the author of three books all available on